She was truly a vision as she drew near him. Even dressed as a lad, she was all woman, and she was the best thing he'd ever seen in his life. "I thought you were leaving me to rest."
A tender smile softened her face and stole his breath. "I was thinking that I might be able to help you with that."
He was about to ask her how when she placed her hand to his hip. All rational thought fled his mind.
Her eyes were dark and hungry as she dipped her head toward his and captured his lips with her own. Kerrigan growled at how good she tasted. He'd never known anyone sweeter. He cupped her head in his hand as he pulled her back so that she could lie atop him.
She nipped and tugged at his mouth with a boldness that surprised him. "My little mouse is hungry."
She smiled at him before she whipped his tunic over his head and tossed it to the floor. And as she climbed onto the bed to straddle him, a tremor of suspicion went through him.
She hadn't mentioned the tunic??/p>
No sooner had the thought gone through his head than she grabbed Caliburn from his side. Kerrigan rose as she launched herself from the bed. The leather scabbard slid across his bare stomach before it clattered to the floor. She retrieved it quickly and pulled the sword free of the scabbard.
"What is this?" he demanded angrily.
He saw the sword's power fill her eyes until they flickered like fire in the dim light of the room. Power surged through the room while the sword acclimated itself to her.
Her eyes rolled back into her head as she shook all over. Lightning flashed, raising the hair on his body as it crackled.
Kerrigan froze. He'd been evil when he found the sword. Seren was good. He had no idea what the power of Caliburn would do to her. Unlike Arthur's Excalibur, this sword had been created by the fey to channel the darker powers. It wasn't meant to be held by a decent human. It was meant to be controlled by a dark Merlin.
"Seren," he said firmly, yet he took care to not frighten her in any manner. With that sword, she could kill him easily. "Look at me."
More lightning flashed as her pale hair whipped around her shoulders as if caught in the midst of an invisible wind. Her face went from human to ghastly, then back again.
"Seren, put the sword down. Slowly."
"Nay," she said breathlessly. "It is part of me." She moved to swing it at him.
Kerrigan held himself completely still. "If you swing that sword, Seren, you will kill me. Instantly. That's the power of it. I wear no enchanted armor to deflect the blade. It will cut through me like a scythe through wheat."
Seren could see Kerrigan only through a blazing haze. His voice was distorted in her ears and sounded demonesque. She'd never felt anything like this. She was drunk on her own power, on the knowledge that no one could hurt her or her baby so long as she held this sword in her hands.
She was all powerful. Not even Morgen could touch her now.
Throwing her head back, she laughed at the victory. The entire world could be hers??ers!
No one could stop her.
Ever!
"Put. The. Sword. Down."
"Nay," she snarled at him. She smiled evilly as she relished the battle to come. "Take it from me if you're able."
He held his hands out in surrender. "I'm not able to take it from you, Seren, and I know it. You're going to have to look me in the eye and kill me.Me. The father of your child."
Hissing, she angled the sword up shoulder high, grasped it in both hands, and started toward him.
Kerrigan held his breath as he waited for the hot sensation of the blade plunging through him.
It would be what he deserved.
And then just as the blade should have skewered him, Seren slammed her body into his, forcing him to take a step back. She threw one arm about his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "Help me," she whispered in a small, agonized voice that sounded more like the woman he knew. "Take it from me, Kerrigan. I don't want it."
"I can't," he said between clenched teeth as he held her against him. "No one can take the sword from the one hand that wields it. So long as it is free of the scabbard, I can't do anything. You have